Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Apple Cider Donut Bread Pudding

About a month ago the boyfriend and I went on vacation to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. It was a celebration of autumn awesomeness filled with epic mountains, changing leaves, lakes and waterfalls. We did a fair bit of hiking to find some spectacular views, and overall the weather was excellent.

Aaaand we also ate a lot. At least I can try to rationalize that all that hiking helped burn some of the calories from the epic meals I ate, right? We had everything from gigantic crepes to pizza to a ridiculously rich and creamy shepherd's pie delivered directly to our B&B (The Lazy Dog Inn) from Grammy Gordon's. Oh yeah, and apple cider donuts. Have I mentioned those yet?

The best apple cider donuts in THE WORLD come from The White Mountain Cider Company in Bartlett, NH. Their deli and store is located in this adorable little barn which instantly greets you with the warming scents of hot cider and freshly fried donuts. When these donuts come fresh out of the fryer, you should just eat them. All of them. Trust me, it's not hard. They are delicate and crispy on the outside giving way to a soft, lightly spiced interior perfect for dipping into your cider if you so choose.

It also happens that they have an incredible restaurant and bar too. Among the food we sampled were their homemade potato chips that come with a selection of sauces. They came in an enormous casserole dish, and although it was just the two of us, we finished all but about 5 potato chips... just so we didn't look like gluttons, you know...? Also, we had this:

The day before we left we got a little crazy and bought a dozen donuts to take home with us. Several of them didn't make it home... but I still had quite a few leftover. By the day after I returned home they were pretty stale. I wasn't about to let those beauties go to waste though! What better way to use them than a yummy bread pudding?

Apple Cider Donut Bread Pudding

I made this on the lightly sweet side. It was just right for my tastes, but if you like things sweet you may find you want to add a little sugar. Also note, these donuts do not have any sugar coating or glaze, so if you use donuts with additional sugar on the outside, take that into account.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a glass baking dish (your average pie plate works nicely)
2. Cut the donuts into about 1 inch cubes. Combine the donut pieces with the cubed apple and place into the prepared baking dish. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, milk, cider, sugar, and vanilla extract. Stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg and orange zest. Pour the milk mixture over the donuts pressing down lightly to allow all of the donut pieces to absorb the milky mixture of magnificence. Let it sit in the refridgerator for at least 30 minutes.
3. Place the baking dish with the donuts inside a larger baking dish. (We're doing a water bath here people!) Fill the outer dish with enough water to reach about halfway up the side of your pudding dish.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven. Server WARM with the cider sauce.

1. In a double boiler melt the butter (or a glass bowl set over a small pot of simmering water if you don't have a double boiler - just a little water. don't let the water touch the bottom of the bowl.) Add the sugar and whisk to combine for about 1 minute. Add the cider and wisk for about 2 minutes, or until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add the egg yolks one at a time while whisking constantly. Once combined, return to heat and continue to whisk for about 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly. Serve the sauce over the bread pudding.